Another Life
by Aerilon452
Summary: Sarah is back in her house with her boyfriend Jeff when she sees the ghostly image of Jareth, her beloved Goblin King, but in his domain, he is sick. Sarah is making him that way.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Sarah pushed aside her time in the Labyrinth, but Jareth won't let her go.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing of LABYRINTH.  
Raiting: T  
Pairing: Jareth and Sarah.

**ANOTHER LIFE:**

Sarah settled down into bed next to her live in boyfriend Jeff. She had class in the morning. She was studying to be a teacher while she tried her hand at writing. People told her that she had talent, but Sarah was plagued by one story she desperately wanted to write. She felt it was something that happened to her as a child, but it still felt like a dream. _Sarah…_ His voice whispered through her mind, his sweet melodious voice tormented her. "Stop. Stop. Stop." Sarah repeated over and over. It was a good thing that Jeff was asleep. She slid out of bed, crouching on the floor, and then turned to look at him. He was still asleep. Sarah got up and opened the bedroom door and gasped loudly. Jareth was standing in front of her and then he was gone like a puff of smoke blown away by a breath of air. Her heart stopped in her chest. "Oh gods…,"

Jeff woke up to see Sarah standing at the bedroom door. "Sarah, baby, you ok?" He threw the covers off and went to her. "What is it?" His hands ran up and down her arms trying to shake her out of whatever trance she was in. "Sarah? Come back to me baby." She fell back into him and started to shake her head. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Sarah lied. Jareth was a ghost of a man she thought had been a dream. "I… guess…" Sarah shook her head. "I thought I saw him." This was not the right time to be seeing Jareth. She thought she had put him behind her. He had been everything she had wanted when she had been the tender at of sixteen, but what had she known about men then.

"Saw who baby?" Jeff maneuvered Sarah back to the bed. He got her to sit down and then he crouched in front of her. "Sarah there was no one in the hall." Jeff knew that Sarah was special, but he loved her no matter what, even when he didn't understand her.

"Jareth was someone…" Sarah looked past Jeff towards the hall, but Jareth wasn't there. "He was someone from my past." For years she had managed to convince herself that when she had been in the Labyrinth, it had all been a dream. Jareth was a figment, a beautiful dream who was there to entice her, and tease her. "Jareth…" And now came the lie. "He was the main character in this dream world my mind concocted when I was sixteen. Everything he was seemed so real."

"Sarah," Jeff rubbed his hands on her knees, "If he's not real, why does it worry you so much?" He asked. She looked like she was scared to tell him something. There was so much about her past that Jeff knew nothing of. Sarah refused to talk to him. Jeff let it go because he cared about her.

And here was another lie she had practiced over and over, "Because of this, I was…" She looked to her right. "I was in an institution…" Sarah looked back at Jeff and let tears fill her eyes. She hated to lie to him, but the lie protected her and what she had experienced in Jareth's domain. "This is why I wasn't so eager to come back to this town."

"Sarah, your father left you this house." Jeff smiled gently and reached up to cup her face. "I know this has been a hard time for you and whatever you need. I will be here for you." It was all he could offer to her.

"What did I do to ever deserve you?" Sarah asked smiling at him.

"I don't know." Jeff shrugged.

Jareth sat back in his throne feeling drained from trying to get Sarah to see him. He was nothing more than a fine mist, but his voice had carried over. It had been years since he was able to manifest some part of himself in Sarah's world. His chest heaved with effort. "Sarah…. I need you." Jareth whispered with effort. His life was getting darker and darker the more she denied that he existed. Since the night she had won, she had beaten him, his life had been tied to hers. He hadn't know how it had happened, but she had somehow bound him to her. For a few years he hadn't noticed anything, but then something changed. Sarah started to deny him, deny he even existed. That was when his powers started to wane.

"My lord?" Didymus poked his head into the throne room to see his king draped tiredly in his throne. Dark circles under his lord's eyes grew darker every day the more he tried to contact the Lady Sarah. Days slipped by with his king getting weaker and weaker.

Jareth looked to the kindly foxknight. "Didymus," Jareth smiled tiredly. "Sarah is proving difficult again." He sighed. The power he expended made him want to curl up in his bed for a week to regain his power. But, he didn't have the time to waste on sleep. Jareth had to get to Sarah, but he didn't have the power to transport himself to her.

"Our lady is growing up." Didymus felt his King's hurt over Sarah. Every friend she had in the labyrinth could feel it. "She needs to be reminded that we are real and not some piece of a dream." He came closer to his king. The noble ruler was looking tired and losing power every day.

"Except reaching her becomes ever difficult the more she denies me." Jareth forced himself to sit up. A wave of dizziness crash through his mind, but still he forced himself to stand. Jareth wavered. He lifted his hand to his nose where his fingers found blood. "Damn." Jareth needed rest and he needed it now. He stumbled out of the throne room, down the corridor, and through the doors of his bed chamber. Jareth didn't have the energy to remove his clothes. He just flopped down to the comforting embrace of his bed. Jareth didn't have the time to groan when sleep claimed him the instant he closed his eyes. Images of Sarah in her white ball gown came to bathe him in sweet memories when they had danced and he sang down the stars to her.

**THE NEXT MORNING:**

Sarah woke to the smell of coffee, the sizzling of bacon in a skillet, and the tell tale music of cartoons. Jeff was funny like that in the morning. He watched cartoons. It made her chuckle as she rolled out of bed and went into the bathroom. She looked into the mirror half expecting to see Jareth reflected back at her, but it was her face and no one else's. Maybe it had been her mind playing tricks on her. Jareth was defeated and he wouldn't be coming back. Why would he? There was nothing for him. Toby was gone. Her father was gone. Even her step mother was gone. Her heart was torn to tatters once more. It had been six months since the accident; yet, it felt like it had happened yesterday. She could still replay the phone call she had received. Sighing, Sarah pushed the thought deep deep down just so she could get on with her day.

Down stairs in the kitchen Jeff was standing at the stove listening to his habitual morning cartoons while making breakfast for Sarah. After she had gone to bed last night she had tossed and turned, trapped in a dream, where she had been calling out to Jareth. If Jeff was less of a man, then he would be jealous, but Jareth was a figment of Sarah's imagination. Yet, as she called to Jareth, Jeff got the sense that this man as more fact that fiction. But how could that be? The man had been the reason she had been in an institution. What was it that Sarah wasn't telling him? It had to be something traumatic, or else maybe she was lying to him. Then again, why would she lie? What was there to lie about? If he thought about it any harder he was going to make his head hurt. Jeff knew that Sarah wouldn't lie to him. She had no reason to be dishonest with him.

Sarah walked down the steps, stopped, and smiled at the site of Jeff. She continued to wonder how she wound up meeting him. They had met in New York, in Soho, when Sarah had been singing in one of the coffee stores that housed writers and poets and painters; bohemians. She had tried that life style for a while. One night she had been singing and there he was, at the bar, and he had been staring at her. There had been a connection between them that she couldn't explain. It was what had drawn her in. Little had she known at the time, Sarah life was going to turn upside down two months later. When it had, Jeff had been there. He had wiped away her tears and held her when she couldn't motivate herself out of bed. Sarah had lucked out in finding him. Now that was in trouble because of Jareth. Last night, the split second glimpse she had gotten of him, he had seemed mortally ill. That tore at her heart as well. When all was said and done, Sarah still loved Jareth.

Jeff sensed he was being watched. Turning, he found Sarah staring at him wearing a curious face. "What's the matter?" Though, he knew the answer to that. It was Jareth. How could a man compete with a perfect figment? Jeff tried not to think about it too much. "Sarah?" He turned back to the stove, clicked the burner off, and then went to her.

"It's nothing," Sarah shook her head. Why couldn't she dislodge Jareth from her mind? She was with Jeff. He was a good guy; a great guy who pulled her through hell. "I just dreamt of…" She sighed. There wasn't a god lie she could tell to him that he would believe. Sarah had dreamed of Jareth last night.

"Jareth?" Jeff sighed placing his hands on the island counter. "Why does he have such power over you?" He asked. Jeff used his big writer's brain to turn a phrase, but he could see that it triggered something in Sarah. He wasn't sure if it was good or bad.

"He has no power over me." Even as Sarah said it she felt a knife in the heart. Jareth was in pain. Her hand went to her heart. 'Oh, Jareth,' Sarah's soul whispered. 'What's happening?' She was at a loss. "It's just… I don't know why this is happening." Sarah made a show of letting her voice break. She had to play the part of the damsel skirting close to mental anguish; at least that was how the world perceived her.

In the land of the goblins, the mighty Labyrinth lay quietly in slumber waiting to be used. The king of this realm was in bed, resting, trying to regain his immense power when he heard her voice. Jareth sat up in bed, hand clutching his pendant, the last source of power he held, as he felt pain run right through him. "Sarah!"  
He called out. Jareth desperately drew in air, tying to breathe through the pain. She had say those words again, the words that he bound him to her in the first place. What had made her say them? Weakly he called to her again, "Sarah…"

Hoggle was outside the Royal bed chambers when he heard his King shout Sarah's name. The first time she had been here, Hoggle played the scared dwarf, but in reality, Hoggle admired his king, and would do anything for him. The world Sarah had seen was the world she had imagined. He pulled the door open and went inside to see if there was anything he could do for his king. "Majesty? What's happened?" Hoggle crept closer to the bed to see Jareth looking even more tired than he had when he had gone to bed.

"It's Sarah," Jareth gasped falling back into the mound of pillows with his chest rising and falling rapidly. "She's damned nearly killing me." This was the first shred of anger he had towards her. A tear of sadness rolled down his cheeks. "Oh Sarah, help me…." Jareth prayed. He let his arm fall over the edge of his bed to dangle. It was then that he felt the calloused hand of Hoggle take his. With what strength he had, Jareth rolled over to see the humble dwarf smiling at him. "She has to make a choice soon and I don't know if I have the power to help her through this."

Hoggle patted Jareth's hand as his king smiled at him weakly, "Please, my lord, you have to rest." He hated to see his king in such a state. This was the man who had found him weak with hunger and thirst. This was the man who had saved him and given him a job in his court. "Sarah will come through. She won't let us down." Hoggle prayed that is faith in her wasn't misplaced. "We'll have to find a way to remind her."

"Oh, Hoggle, I haven't the strength to go to her." Jareth admitted. "Sarah drains me daily." Exhaustion clawed at his eyes demanding that he close them. Jareth obeyed. He was tired of fighting. He was tired of feeling the torment Sarah was dealing to him with her denials he ever existed. Jareth slipped back into the gentle arms of sleep where in dreams he and Sarah were still in the ballroom dancing. It was there he knew peace. It was there he could see her face, see the marvel and wonderment in her eyes. It was there he could pretend that, for a moment, she loved him in return.

Hoggle lingered a little while longer holding on to Jareth's hand. "Then, my lord, we are just going to have to find a way to send you there." He muttered. Jareth wasn't the only Fae in this land to have magic. Hoggle was sure that if he and some of the others cobbled together enough magic they could send their king to his beloved lady. Sarah needed to know that she was needed here. Her place was with Jareth. Hoggle would go himself, but his weathered features, and short stature would not allow him to blend in. With his King's Fae beauty, Jareth could easily walk through the world of humans. Hoggle's only hope was that Sarah would not deny their king. Before he left, Hoggle took the bracelet Sarah had given him and slipped it onto the wrist of his king. Maybe there was some of Sarah's lingering magic clinging to the bit of plastic.

Back in the throne room Didymus paced back and forth listening to Hoggle's idea. "This is bad. We can't let him go there unprotected." As much as the foxknight loved Sarah he knew this was a bad idea. "How do we know that Lady Sarah will even care for our king?"

"We don't," Hoggle answered. "But he needs her as much as she needs him." The dwarf sat down on the step next to the throne. "I have heard her cries, pleading for him, and I have heard her denying him. The only way to save our king is to send him to her, to make Sarah face him again."

"But how do we get him there?" the wise man asked, thankful that his hat remained silent. "She's closed her hearts to us, and most certainly to him. Will she allow us to send him to her?"

"We don't give her a choice." Hoggle stated. He was growing impatient with how childish Sarah seemed to be now. "There is one connection to our world that Sarah has yet to shut down; her room." Hoggle remembered visiting her there many times when she called him. "We send Jareth through there and then temporarily close it from this side."

"This isn't a good idea…" Didymus muttered shaking his head. His faithful stead, Ambrosias, whimpered in agreement. "Jareth would be furious." He said. Someone had to be the voice of reason.

"Once he sees Sarah he will forgive us." Hoggle waved Didymus off. "But we have to wait for when he's stronger. Right now," Hoggle bit his tongue but then forced himself to continue, "He could hardly sit up, let alone walk without help."

"Ludo will carry him," The comely ginger giant rumbled.

"Oh yes, the king will love that…" The bird head piped up on top of the wise man's head. "He'll see us to the bog before we could blink."

"Shut up!" The wise man shouted.

**SARAH'S KITCHEN:**

"What is it about him?" Jeff asked. They were still standing in the kitchen while he waited for Sarah to explain to him the allure of this man who was the main cause she ended up having a mental break down. "Am I not good enough?" Jeff asked, hating that he had too.

"It's not that." Sarah felt tears come to her eyes. "Jareth is…" She shrugged. "He's everything I thought I wanted. I close my eyes and I can see him. I can hear his voice. I can even hear him singing to me." She shook her head. "Last night I dreamed of him. I dreamed of when we were dancing. We were in this bubble with people wearing masks and pretending to be goblins. Jareth was there looking very much like the king he was." Sarah looked at her hands. She could almost feel the way he had held hers. "That night, I felt like I floating on air…" She looked at Jeff and then came the lie she had told so often. "That night I ceased to know reality from fantasy. My father committed me."

Jeff went from annoyed to feeling like an ass. "Oh, Sarah, I'm an insensitive asshole," He came around the island and gathered her close. "I'm trying…"

"I know." Sarah hugged him close feeling horrible for the hundredth time that she was lying to him about her time in the Labyrinth. She was lying about Jareth. Every time she was with him it was a lie. How did Sarah stand herself? Then to keep her from having to lie anymore, Sarah said, "Why do you put up with me?"

Jeff smirked, "I put up with you, because you inspire me." He kissed the top of her head. "I love the way I can tap into my creative side when I'm with you." Jeff pulled back and looked her deep in the eyes. "Sarah, you are my muse, and I don't want to lose you."

"You make me feel safe," Sarah smiled feeling her chest tighten. With practice, she schooled her features so he wouldn't let on that she was starting to get worried. "You're going to be late for work."

"Oh, damn…" Jeff looked at the clock above the microwave. He turned back to Sarah, kissed her cheek, and then said, "I hate to leave you like this."

"I'm fine," Sarah lied through her teeth. "You'll be late for work." She smiled brightly. There was a certain eagerness she had for him to be out of the house. Something was going to happen and she didn't want him around when it did. "I'll see you tonight and I will make you dinner." Jeff kissed her quickly and then Sarah smirked at he ran out of the door.

**GOBLIN CASTLE:**

Jareth could barely open his eyes as his body was lifted unceremoniously out of his bed. "What…" He slurred forcing his eyes open to see nothing but ginger fur in his face. It was Ludo, the gentle giant. "What's happening?" This time his voice had a little more power to it. "What are you doing?" Desperately the fingers of his right hand clutched at the fur. "Stop…" Jareth's head lolled against Ludo. The giant refused to heed his word.

Hoggle stood shifting back and forth from one foot to the other. He was having second thoughts, but this had to be done, and he couldn't. His king had to be restored to his true power. Sarah was the key to having the Goblin King returned. Hoggle, the rest of the goblins, and all the other rescued Fae creatures were counting on their king. "Where is Ludo?" Hoggle groaned. Then the massive doors opened and Ludo lumbered in carrying their weakened king. "Good. Now, Ludo, put him down in front of the mirror." Hoggle had gone to the garbage maid Agnes to retrieve the replica mirror Jareth had once used to trick Sarah. It was a doorway.

**SARAH'S ROOM:**

Sarah had been drawn to her room. She couldn't explain it, but she had to come here. Sitting down at her vanity she looked in the mirror where she imagined seeing Hoggle again. He had been a grouchy dwarf to her at first, but then he warmed up and helped her get to the castle. Her time in the Labyrinth had made her the person she was. She was someone who went after her dream, but at the same time she hid from the world, hid the truth of the King she had fallen in love with. As she looked in the mirror she conjured Jareth's face as he had looked on that night. She could see his hair styled perfectly and tinted blue with his face perfectly made up. Sarah focused on his lips. She could hear him as he sang to her from that night. "Oh, Jareth. Where are you?" It was a moment of weakness, just a fleeting moment. She missed him. Her heart ached for him. Getting up, Sarah shook her head at her foolishness. Jareth probably had forgotten her.

Sarah was near the door, her hand hovering over the when the sky outside her window turned dark, thunder boomed, and rain poured down in the blink of an eye. "Oh no…" She knew what was going to happen next. This had happened once before when she had wished Toby away. Thunder and lightning, rain, the wind kicked up, and then there was Jareth standing before her in all of his regal glory. This time there was thunder, there was lightning, and the window blew open the window. Sarah hid her face against the wall until everything died down. When she looked at the sky, the storm vanished, the sun was out, and all was clear. But a pain filled groan reached her ears. It was coming from the other side of her former bed. Sarah walked around the foot of the bed to see familiar boots, pale blue breeches, an all too familiar black vest over a white shirt, and the face of the man she had loved since she had been sixteen. "Jareth…"

Jareth heard her voice but he hadn't the strength to roll over her. He could call to her though; he had enough breath for that. "Sarah…" His voice was breathy, far off. Her footsteps came closer, until he could force his eyes open to see the tips of her shoes, and then he bare knees. Then he could barely lift his head to see her concerned eyes looking down at him. "Sarah…" feebly he tried to reach out to her, but hand didn't quite reach her, his gloved fingers scraped the carpet. "Sarah… help… me…." His eyes could barely believe that he was seeing her, that Sarah was actually in front of him.

Sarah cupped Jareth's face, "What happened to you?" She didn't wait for his weak reply. Sarah leaned into him and kissed him. Sparks flew between them, like they always did. It didn't stop her. Sarah kissed him, using her strength to pull him into her arms. "Jareth…." Sarah gasped holding him to her, rocking back and forth. It was then that she felt his arms come around her. He was hugging her. "Oh, Jareth, my Goblin King, what happened?" She asked again as she kissed his brown, brushing back his wild mane of blond hair. Why was this happening to her now? Why had he come here? Hopefully, she would get her answers from Jareth, but from the dark circles, the sallow skin, Sarah doubted he would be doing much talking. Until then, she was going to have to take care of him. What was she going to tell Jeff when he came back?


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: Sarah pushed aside her time in the Labyrinth, but Jareth won't let her go.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing of LABYRINTH.  
Raiting: T  
Pairing: Jareth and Sarah.

**ANOTHER LIFE:**

"Jareth…" Sarah rocked back and forth with her Goblin King in her arms. "Please, wake up." His eyes had closed and his chest barely rose and fell. She was afraid that he might not wake up. Sarah wouldn't know what she would do if he actually died. She couldn't face it. "Jareth, wake up, please…." She pleaded. "I need you. You can't leave me." This couldn't happen to her again; not again. In a flash she was back on that day when she got the phone call that her family was dead. "No, no, no…." Sarah rocked back and forth holding Jareth close to her, placing her hands over his heart. "Come back to me." Tears slipped down her cheeks as she continued to rock with Jareth in her arms.

Jareth heard Sarah calling to him. He was in her arms. It was all he had wanted since that night they had danced. The last time they were together, he had been cast as the role of villain. He had to be the man she perceived him to be. It was all because of that damned book. Jareth hadn't wanted to the monster in her tale; he wanted her to see that he was the man she was meant to have. Then again, she was young, and she hadn't know what his love could bring her. He wanted so badly to reach out to her, to hold her in return, but he had barely enough strength to breathing. All that mattered to him was that he was with Sarah.

Sarah didn't know how she had come to love Jareth the way she did, even after taking her brother, putting her through the gauntlet that was his Labyrinth, and then trying to make her forget while bringing her into a wonderful ballroom where he sang to her. Despite all of that, she loved him. "Jareth…. I love you…." She kissed his furrowed brow feeling sweat breaking out along his skin. "Please, you have to wake up." It was then that she felt him stir against her. "I need you." He moved again, his left hand reaching up to rest limply over hers. They couldn't sit on the floor all day. She had to get him up and get him lying in a bed.

"Sa..rah…" Jareth mumbled trying to force his fingers to grip her hands. Over and over she whispered that it was ok, that she was with him. It was music to his ears. There wasn't much that he could do as Sarah helped him off the floor and to the bed she once had called hers. Her arms slipped around his torso and tried to lift him up. His legs we unsteady beneath him to the point he nearly took them both back to the floor as he could not support his own weight but Sarah managed to tumble him to the bed. Jareth hadn't counted on her tumbling to the mattress with him. "I'm sorry…" He breathed out.

"It's ok. It doesn't matter, you're here," Sarah smiled gently. "I'm just glad to see you." She said sitting up to get a better look at him. He was looking dehydrated. His lips were pale and cracking. The dark circles under his eyes were practically black. "Lay here and I'll be right back." She ran her fingers down his soft cheek. Sarah didn't want to leave him like this, but she had to get him something to drink. Slowly climbing out of the bed, Sarah hurried out of the room and down to the kitchen where she brewed some soothing chamomile tea. While she waited for the water to boil, Sarah shifted back and forth from foot to foot. Jareth was here, he was in her former room, and he was sick. What was making him that way? How could the mighty Goblin King become to deathly ill? It made no sense. Jareth was a Fae, an immortal. He couldn't be dying. She refused to believe it. He was Jareth. He was her king. Sarah wasn't going to let him die. The tea kettle shrilled making her jump. Quickly she fixed the tea and ran back up the stairs to where Jareth lay.

While Sarah was gone, Jareth tried to pull himself up, tried to sit as best he could, but it was no use. He felt like he had been trampled by Ludo for a straight week. Weakly he lifted his right arm to see the plastic bracelet Sarah had given to Hoggle years ago. There was still some of her innocence clinging to the colored beads. It speared into his veins giving him what he needed; a small trickle of power. It raced through him and into his heart. This was the first time in months he felt stronger. Sarah was starting to believe in him again. He was able to hold his head up when she walked through the door again. Jareth smiled at Sarah trying to force his upper body up.

Sarah moved over to the bed to try and keep him from sitting up. "No, Jareth, lay down." She ordered gently as she sat down next to him. With her free hand she rested it on his chest. "Please…" With that one word he settled back down. Sarah only shook her head at him. No matter what, men were men. "Here, this should help a little." Sarah moved closer and held the cup up to his lips helping him drink the already cooled off tea. Jareth took a small sip and then pulled his head away. "Come on, you need to drink this."

Jareth shook his head, "Sarah… I…." He coughed so hard his ribs hurt. His eyes stayed locked on her where he could see the worry darkening her eyes. "I have…" Jareth wheezed, "A gift for you." Just being near Sarah was giving him more and more energy. He lifted his right hand to pull off a thick copper band that Hoggle and a few of the other goblins had made for Sarah. "This is from the goblins and Hoggle…." He pulled the ring off and then took her right hand to slip the band on her finger.

Sarah was stunned and still holding the cup of tea as she looked at the ring gracing her finger. The inside of the band had thin copper veins making a delicate rose pattern. Then she looked to his left hand to see a matching band under the leather of the gloves he wore. Sarah had to see. She set the cup aside and then pulled off the leather glove to see, in fact, there was a matching band gracing his middle finger. She had never seen his hands bare before. His fingers were long and delicate, but strong, and his nails had a delicate pearl shine to them. "Oh, Jareth…." She leaned into him and kissed him. Her hands cupped his face as his left hand wrapped around one of her wrists. She felt the metal of his ring press into her flesh.

The more he stayed with her, the stronger Jareth would become. The more contact his skin had to her, the more he could draw on her inner power to refuel his. They would need him at full strength when it came time to take them home. Sarah belonged with him in the Underground. She belonged at his side, as his Queen. He needed her, just as she needed him. Jareth accepted her as she was. She was pure magic. She was his source of power. "Sarah…" He gasped against her lips. He was getting stronger and stronger.

Sarah pulled back from him and slipped off the bed. "No…" she shook her head. "I can't do this." Looking back at him, she saw the confusion through his bi-colored eyes. "You're ill, and I'm…" She shook her head again. "I'm me…" Jareth was all she ever wanted and at the same time she was with Jeff. He was a good man and he was the person who had saved her from drowning in grief over the loss of her family. Jareth reached out his ungloved hand to her. With her right hand she took his left lacing their fingers together. What was she getting in to? She had to change the subject. "Why are you here?" Sarah tried not to notice how beautiful he looked. Jareth was the same to her. The wild hair, the eyes, the make-up, and his clothes. All of it. He was the same.

Jareth chuckled taking his hand from hers as he dropped back to the bed. He sighed deeply. "Hoggle and Didymus, and the ridiculous fellow with the bird as a hat conspired to get me here." Jareth shook his head getting his eyes to focus on the ceiling as he pulled off his other glove letting it drop to the blankets next to his hip. "They knew I needed you, but I was too weak to come to you on my own." He admitted to her, only to her. "My power… it's…" Jareth chose this moment to lie. He could sense that Sarah was skittish. "My power is not what it used to be." He turned his head to look at Sarah. To his weary eyes she was still as beautiful as ever. Her hair had been cut, but it was still a tumble of chocolate locks framing her face. She was still his Sarah.

"Is there anything I can do?" Sarah asked getting off the floor to sit by him again. Once again she placed her hand on his chest and let her fingers fiddle with the ties of his white silk shirt. His chest was rising and falling normally. Jareth was improving just by being here. He said nothing, raising his hands up to grasp her shoulders and pull her down to him. Sarah went willingly. That was his power. She stretched out next to him, draped her arm over his waist, and snuggled into him resting her head over his heart. Being with him made her uncertain soul steady. Jareth held her close and whispered to her. In that moment Sarah started to hum the song he had sang to her in that dream world.

Jareth smiled broadly, "You remembered," He was pleased to think this was the common memory they shared. It was his dream, it was the place he could go to see her again, to see the small sliver of love she had for him blazing in her eyes. She had been young, but she had loved him and he loved her. He still let his heart beat solely for her. "I reply that night in my mind so often I wish we were still there. Do you remember when we danced?"

"How could I forget, despite you trying to distract me from getting my brother back?" Sarah accused lightly snuggling into his side even more. "You were so handsome that night, and the way you sang has haunted my dreams." Sarah turned her head, burying her face in the soft leather of his vest. "I dream about you often." Sarah admitted to him, only to him. He was the one man she knew would truly understand her. She wasn't sure what she should do now? What was she going to tell Jeff? Was she going to tell him that they were over because the actual love of her life was here? Was she going to lie to him some more?

"I dream of you in that white ball gown most of the time." Jareth kissed the top of her head. "But most of all, I see you when you are standing in the Escher room, and you show no fear." Again he kissed the top of her head finally freely able to show this small amount of affection. She was an adult now, free to know the kind of love he held for her. His heart mended just from being with her. All the years they spent apart meant nothing now. "I'm sorry for everything that happened." When Sarah made no reply Jareth Angled his head to look at her, only to find that she was asleep. He smiled, dropped another kiss to her brow, and then allowed his body to fall into the much needed rest he had been lacking for months. Finally his soul was able to heal, his heart latched onto the beat of Sarah's, and the low level power he had been surviving off of for months was now re-charging. When he woke up Jareth knew he would be at full strength.

The afternoon sun streamed in through the open window to dance across Jareth's closed eye lids bringing him out of sleep. He felt warm, he felt strong, and most of all; Jareth felt his power returned to him. Opening is eyes he looked around the room expecting to find himself in his bedchambers of the Goblin Castle, but he wasn't there. He was still in Sarah's former room. She was still lying at his side fast asleep. Jareth smiled lightly brushing his left hand, bearing his matching ring, over her dark hair feeling the silky strands tease his palm. Slowly he ran his long delicate fingers through her hair, watching the strands fall like water. This was his Sarah. He would be content for a thousand years just holding her like this.

Sarah as slowly rising from sleep, a midday nap she hadn't meant to take, but had been lulled into by the feeling, the comforting weight of Jareth's arms around her. That was his power, he gave her the feeling of belonging, of peace, and she had safety when she was with him. Jeff only made her feel safe. He has been there for her during the worst time in her life. Sarah wanted to keep this feeling around her for as long as she could, but soon the real world would creep in and there would be things she would have to explain. Was she ready to do that? Could she break Jeff's heart? Sarah opened her eyes and looked up into Jareth's smiling face. She smiled in return and then asked, "How do you feel?" Though, she really didn't need to ask. The dark circles were gone. The beautiful porcelain complexion he always had as returned to him and hi bi-colored eyes were bright and shining.

"Better than ever," Jareth answered. He drew in a deep breath, feeling his lungs expand without the threat of a terribly painful coughing fit. His heart was beating with a strong steady beat while his body felt rejuvenated. When he looked into her eyes, he saw some shadow being lifted from her as well. "How do you feel?" Sarah opened her mouth to answer her, and then she stopped. Her brow furrowed in thought as if she had to give serious consideration to her answer. "Sarah?" Jareth sat up with ease making sure to keep her against him. "What is it?" A sudden lance of fear sliced through him nearly stilling his heart. Then, Sarah turned a brilliant, dazzling smile on him. Her arms came around his neck and her fingers tangled in his hair. Jareth hugged her in return.

"I feel different somehow." Sarah muttered as she held Jareth close. The only time she could remember being brave was when she had been with him, facing off against him in the Labyrinth. "What is it about you that makes me feel stronger?" She asked. It couldn't be that she loved him. Love was powerful, but it had to be something else. Sarah brought her hands to his face, cupping his jaw, "Why do I love you so much after all these years?" It confused her. She knew she loved Jareth. She knew she want to be with him. She knew she was meant to be with him. Jareth didn't answer her. Instead he pulled her even closer so that he could kiss her sweetly. In that moment Sarah was lost to him. Sarah felt the weight of the ring on her finger; the ring Jareth had given her. It all felt so right.

"Will you leave this realm and come home with me?" Jareth asked needing to breathe but also needing the feeling of Sarah's lip on his. "Come home with Sarah." He pleaded. "Come home with me." Jareth looked deeply into her eyes to see her answer. "I need to hear you say it," He had to be sure of her answer before he did anything. "Sarah, say you'll come home." His heart stilled in his chest waiting for her to speak.

"Yes," Sarah breathed out. "I'll come home." Long ago Sarah had reconciled the fact that this world, the human realm, was not her home. She had come to that conclusion not long after her family had been taken from her. Though, she had been too stubborn to call to Jareth, to ask him to take her away. Now, that wasn't the case. "I want to go home." Sarah wanted to see Hoggle, and Ludo, and Didymus. She missed her friends. Jareth smiled brightly at her, and she at him.

Jareth took her hands in his bringing her off the bed and in front of her mirror. "This is only active portal between our home and this world." He could see she was unconvinced. So, he would have to show her. Jareth took her right hand, the hand that bore his ring, and placed it to the cold glass. Then he rested his left hand over hers waiting for the power to take them away. Nothing happened. "This isn't right," He muttered.

"Jareth, it's just a mirror." Sarah said and suppressed a giggle when he glared at her. "Jareth, we can't stay here." She was anxious to leave before Jeff got back. It was cowardly that she was running away. How was she to explain to Jeff, to a good man, that she was in love with a man who was king of goblins? If she even tried to explain he would call her crazy for real.

"Hoggle," Jareth snarled. "He closed down the mirror to conserve magic incase…" he didn't want to give voice to what Hoggle had thought Sarah might do to him. Jareth didn't know of another way to get home, not until the mirror was uncovered on the other side. "We have to wait."

"But we can't," Sarah argued taking Jareth's hand. "Please…" There were too many memories in this house, too many smiles, arguments, and too many moments that hurt her heart every time she walked through the door. It wasn't just Jeff she wanted to run from, it was the reminder of all that she had lost.

"What are you running from?" Jareth asked hearing the note of urgency in Sarah's voice. A wave of sorrow washed through the room sending a chill straight to his bones. Sarah had been happy a moment ago, but now that was gone. Something had chased all of her happiness away. "Sarah, what happened?"

Sarah dropped his hand, sighed, and went to sit on the foot of the bed. If there was one person in this world that she couldn't bear to lie to, it would be Jareth. In a voice that she barely recognized as hers, Sarah said, "I lost everything." True tears came to her eyes as she looked at him. Jareth came to her, crouched down in front of her, and put his hands on her knees. There was such compassion and remorse in his eyes. "They're gone; Toby, my dad, and my step mother." She shook her head.

"Oh, my poor sweet Sarah," Jareth moved back pulling her with him so that he could cradle her in his arms. It was his turn to rock her back and forth in comfort as she had done for him. "There are no words to soothe the savage ache in your heart." He kissed her temple and hummed to her a gentle lilting melody. Sarah snuggled deeper into his embrace. Jareth felt the sudden urgency to get her away from this place.

"You help," Sarah whispered. "I'm tired of always being sad." She listened to him humming and having that feeling of security invade her senses. So long as she was with Jareth, no harm would befall her. "That's not all I'm running from." She had to be 100% honest with him. Sarah leaned back from his comforting embrace to look him in the eyes. "I…" She could admit to him that she lost her family, but she could barely choke out the words she had a boyfriend. "Uhh….. I …." This was harder than it should be. "Jareth, I choose to be with you." She said first. "But, before you showed up, there is another."

Jareth could have gotten angry, he could have felt betrayed that Sarah as with another, but he didn't. "Does he hold your heart?" He asked. Jareth loved Sarah, and if loving her meant he had to let her go then he would do that despite her saying that she wanted to be with him. He had to think of her well being, her happiness.

"No," Sarah shook her head. "You've always had my heart." She went to her knees in front of him, and again she cupped his face. "It has always been you. I just never knew that until you were here, in front of me." This realization was long overdue. "Every man I was with, they weren't you; they were never you." She kissed him gently. "They didn't have your lips, your smile, or your voice. They didn't have your eyes." Every word of truth she spoke filled her heart with warmth, with love, and with hope that she would have a brighter future.

Jareth thought his heart would burst with happiness from hearing her words caress his ear with things he had longed to hear fall from her lips. "Oh, Sarah," Jareth framed her face with his hand seeing the sun glint on the copper ring gracing his left finger. "I love you." He touched his forehead to hers feeling tears gather in his eyes. "I will take us home." Sweetly, his lips touched hers. There would be many more kisses between them. To make her smile, Jareth muttered, "And when I take us home, it will be the bog for Hoggle." He chuckled darkly.

Sarah let her mouth gape open at his words, though, she could sense that he was teasing, "Don't be mean to him. Not like last time when you sent him there just because I kissed him on the cheek." She smirked at him. "It was only a thank you kiss for saving me from those fiery fools who can remove their own heads." Sarah remembered every moment of her time in the labyrinth. They had been the craziest creatures she had come across.

Jareth played along and said, "Ok, maybe not the bog." And then he added, "Just so you know, Hoggle is one of my most loyal subjects." He stood up offering his hand to her. A question was lingering in her eyes. "I found him after he had been cast out of the Dwarf Kingdom. He was alone," Jareth took her hand and pulled her towards the door. He wanted to see more of this house. "He was lost in the desert that surrounds my kingdom, and he was near death. I saved his life and in return his loyalty has never wavered from me."

"But then, why did he help me when I was in the Labyrinth?" Sarah asked following Jareth out the door. There was only so much time that they could spend in there. Now that Jareth was with her, she wasn't going to hide. When Jeff came back she was going to come clean with him. But until then, she wanted to talk more about her time in Jareth's domain.

"Because Hoggle is just as loyal to you," Jareth answered. "Sarah, I only acted the way you expected me to and that final moment, in the Escher Room, I tried…" He stopped in the hall and let her hand go leaning against the wall. "That book was your connection to me when you were young; it allowed you to believe in me, but it wasn't who I truly was."

Sarah nodded. "I was too young to understand." She had many years to look back on her time, to remember his words, to feel everything for him again, and she had time to figure out that he really did love her. Sarah hadn't let him because she had cast herself in the role of hero and he in the role of villain. "That still doesn't excuse you taking my brother." Sarah teased him.

Jareth shook his head, "You wished him away." He crossed to her, pinned her to the wall with his body and his hands flat on either side of her hips. "I was generous and let you get him back." Jareth shrugged. They were teasing. He liked this.

"Generous," Sarah scoffed playfully. "You call the cleaners chasing me and Hoggle, generous?" There was no accusation in her tone, only teasing and taunting. "But, I think I can let you make that up to me." Her hands slid up his chest and over his shoulders to play with the long strands of his hair. His hands slipped over her hips and then down to grasp the back of her thighs. Suddenly the mood shifted to something more primal.

Jareth lifted Sarah against him while keeping her pressed to the wall. His lips claimed hers and as vastly different from the kiss they had shared moments ago. This one was powerful, full of longing and love, and passion fighting to drown them until they were lost to each other. Jareth drank down Sarah's moans trying not to let one of them escape. She tasted so wild, so free. He knew he would become hopelessly addicted her and he would deny her nothing.

Sarah was in a dream, Jareth was kissing her. He was possessing her mouth in way she had had only ever dreamed of. At least now she was of an age where she could truly understand the way he loved her. Now, she could love him in return; fully love him not with just her heart, but with her body as well. "I want to be with you forever." Sarah gasped feeling her heart nearly beating out of her chest. Then her world collapsed as she heard the front door open. "Oh no…"

Jareth kept Sarah close to him as the haze faded quickly from them. The other man she had told him about, the man he had caught glimpses of when he tried to get her to see him had just returned. He was not about to lose Sarah now. Jareth looked at her and then back to the stairs. They were going to have to do something, anything, but he knew they would face this together. "Sarah…" What was he to say? What were they to do?

"Time to face the music," Sarah muttered taking herself out of Jareth's arms, much to her great regret. She wanted to stay cocooned in against him, keep his lips to hers, and more than anything she wanted to see the burnished orange sunset of the Underground where his Kingdom was. One more time she took his hand, ran the pad of her thumb over the ring, before she made a move for the stairs. Jareth wouldn't let her go. His hand remained in hers. Sarah knew that if she was to come clean she couldn't do it on her own. She would need Jareth at her side.


	3. Chapter 3

Summary: Sarah pushed aside her time in the Labyrinth, but Jareth won't let her go.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing of LABYRINTH.  
Raiting: T  
Pairing: Jareth and Sarah.

**ANOTHER LIFE:**

Jeff had hardly noticed the time slip by while he was at work. All he could think about was getting back to Sarah. There was so much he wanted to ask her, he just had to go about it in the right way. Being at work allowed him time to think of the right questions that he was going to ask Sarah. Jeff walked through the door to silence. Sarah had said she was going to cook, but no lovely smells of dinner greeted his nose. It was all silent. "Sarah!" Jeff called out hearing his voice echo all around him. "You home?" Then she was there, standing at the top of the steps. The look she gave him was not what he was expecting. "What's going on?"

Sarah held tight to Jareth's hand as he stood out of sight. "Jeff, we have to talk." She took her first step, down the first stair, bringing Jareth into plain view with her hand in his. Jeff's face fell and then contorted in anger in one beat of her heart. She took another step, this time tightening her hold on Jareth's hand. He was giving her the strength to do this. "I told this morning about Jareth," Sarah looked back over at shoulder at him and Jareth nodded. "This is Jareth." Looking back to Jeff she continued. "I lied to you when I said he wasn't real. He is very real and…" Her words faltered.

"He's the one you really love?" Jeff scoffed. "You do this to me now? Why now?!" He shouted coming to the stairs. Jeff would have run up them in a heartbeat, would have taken Sarah by the shoulders, and he would have shaken her. But the blond man behind her exuded this strange presence that warned him to keep back. It was the same feeling he had gotten from Sarah, but it had been her sad eyes that he drawn him to her.

"Jeff," Sarah took her hand from Jareth's and went to Jeff. She would have reached out to him, caressed his cheeks. "Jareth came back into my life. He's been… He the reason…" Sarah had no explanation for why she loved Jareth. All she knew was that she loved her fare skinned Goblin King. He made her feel like she belonged somewhere.

"Were you ever going to tell me?" Jeff looked up at her, a small snarl clinging to his words. "Were you ever going to tell me that you were leaving? Or were you just going to vanish?" Jeff looked in her eyes to see his answer. "You were just going to vanish, weren't you?"

Sarah nodded, "I'm not proud of it," she answered. "I don't belong here, Jeff." Sarah heard Jareth take two steps closer to her. "This isn't because of you." It was a poor excuse, granted. "This goes way back, long before I knew you." This time she reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder but he shook off her touch. "I…" Jeff didn't give her the chance to say more. He shook his head and then turned around to leave. Sarah knew this was the outcome she deserved. She was going to just disappear on him. It was fair that he was going to walk out on her. The front door slammed making Sarah jump.

Jareth closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her. "That could've ended differently." He was just glad that it ended with the other man walking away rather than with him trying to harm Sarah. If that had happened then he would not have allowed the man a moment's peace. He would have used what magic he had to cast Jeff into his labyrinth.

Sarah leaned back into Jareth feeling a sting of sadness pierce her heart. "What would you have done had it gone differently?" She asked, though, she had an idea of what would have happened. "Would you have sent him to the Labyrinth? Would you have cast him down into the bog of eternal stench?" Saying the name made her shudder and fight back the urge to cover her nose. That place had been horrid.

"I would have done that," Jareth answered, "And much more if had dared try to harm you." Sarah turned in his arms and tangled her fingers in his hair. "I would have made him regret trying to lay hands upon you, but since he restrained himself, there was no need to make him run the gauntlet that is the Labyrinth." Jareth kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Thank you for letting me handle this, though, it could have gone better," Sarah said just glad that it was over. "How much longer until we can leave this realm?" She was ready to go back to the Goblin Castle, back to the Labyrinth to be with Jareth. "I'm ready to leave."

Jareth ran his hands up and down her back, "Let's go and see." Taking her hand he pulled her back up the steps and back into her childhood room. This time he could feel it. This time when he placed their hands on the oddly warm glass, magic took them away.

In town Jeff drove by bar after bar. There was somewhere he had to go, someone he had to see. Down the street he rumbled in his pickup truck until he pulled into an abandoned parking lot to see a black SUV waiting for him. Jeff didn't bother killing the engine to his truck, he pulled up alongside the SUV and then rolled down his window. The face that greeted him was young, had an otherworldly feel, and light sherbet orange hair pulled back into a neat pony tail. "You were right; The Goblin King did come for her finally."

"And what of Sarah? Is she leaving with him?" Coradine smiled her sinister elfin smile. "I've been waiting for this moment for a hundred years." Then she said to Jeff, "You my dear cousin, have done well. Now, how are they going to get back?"

Jeff shrugged. He played his part and now he was done, "I don't know. I left before I could find out." He hadn't meant to fall for Sarah, but he had, and now his heart felt trampled by stallions. Coradine looked at him, rage flickering in her delicate golden eyes. "Find the way back yourself," He shook his head. "You got me into this and now you have to do your part." After a pause he added, "I still want Sarah, but I also want what you promised me; a Fae life."

Coradine knew that she couldn't continue to push her human cousin. So she nodded and said, "I haven't forgotten. You'll get your just rewards, I promise." She smiled sweetly and then turned the engine over to bring the big SUV back to life. Coradine wouldn't be able to tag along and ride the magic back into the Underground with the Goblin King and the interesting human that Jareth loved. She was going to have find another way back home, but the other way was a place she had hoped to never to travel to.

**GOBLIN CASTLE:**

Sarah opened her eyes to see the familiar stone walls of the throne room, but it looked different; cleaner. There were no drunken Goblins lying about, no chickens running wild, and no small children. The throne was the same and joined with a second one. This was home now. Jareth was behind her, his arms slipping around her waist, and his lips tracing the outside of her ear. "Is that throne for me?" she asked angling her head to look at him. Everything was happening so fast and yet it was at a pace she could live with. She was with Jareth; she was in a place that felt more like home than her home had.

"Why, yes, I do believe it is." Jareth answered kissing the side of her neck. "The Labyrinth has been waiting for its true Queen to come home." Sarah looked shocked to hear him say that. Jareth smiled, kissed her forehead, and then continued, "I was born to be king, but the Labyrinth, oh," he sighed and hugged her closer, "The Labyrinth chooses its Queen." He kissed her cheek. "How do you think that book crossed your path?" This time she turned in his embrace a mix of exhilaration and nervousness played in her eyes. "We were always meant to be together." Jareth cupped her face. "I knew the moment I saw you that I would never love another."

"I love you," Sarah whispered reverently afraid to raise her voice in that moment. She watched as Jareth took her right hand, slipped free the copper ring from her right ring finger, and then he transferred it to her left ring finger. "Is this your subtle way of asking me to marry you?" She had to tease him even as she knew her answer would be yes. Jareth was all she ever wanted. He was her future.

"I want you," Jareth purred kissing her jaw. "I want you to be my Queen, to be my wife, and to be my heart." He saw the joy in her eyes chase away the sadness he had seen when she had been telling him about the tragedy that had befallen her. Jareth wanted nothing more than to make her happy, to take away her pain, and to help her remember the good things in life. Sarah didn't answer him. She threw her arms over his shoulders hugging him close. "Is that a yes?" Jareth held her close.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Sarah shouted over and over laughing. She pulled back to look into his bi-colored eyes, and again she said, "Yes!" It was all happening so fast; everything at once. Sarah could care less. She was with Jareth. "I want to marry you!" Jareth kissed her quickly, full of happiness. His arms locked on her waist and then they were spinning in circles.

As Jareth held Sarah close to him he felt her inner power spreading out through his Castle and into the Labyrinth bringing it awake. He could feel life fill his kingdom again and it was all due to Sarah. She was a breath of fresh air whispering through the crumbling stone walls, the hedges, and even through forest. Jareth set her down in front of him, "You have brought vital breath back to this long slumbering Labyrinth." He said.

Sarah smiled, "You give my heart a reason to beat." She took her arms from around him and then ran to the window to look out upon the Labyrinth that she would now call home. It, too, seemed different than she remembered. Everything seemed new to her eyes. The goblin town had been dirty and dusty the last time. Now it was a sparking town with hardly a piece of straw out of place. "This place…" She was at a loss for words.

Jareth stood behind Sarah looking out at his kingdom slowly restoring itself and said, "Welcome home, my Queen." His hand held hers, his fingers fiddling with the band adorning her left finger. Soon the Labyrinth would start bonding with Sarah. "This is just the beginning." He promised. Jareth believed that they would have a long life together if they could get through the brewing storm he sensed that coming their way.

Hoggle stood just inside the doors of the throne room feeling his heart beat with happiness at once again seeing Sarah. She was special from the moment he had met her all those years ago at the entrance to the Labyrinth. He knew she had been coming, the shift in the air told every denizen of the maze that their queen was coming. As much as he wanted to, Hoggle couldn't stand here goggling at them. "My Lord, my Lady?"

Sarah knew that voice. She turned from Jareth to see Hoggle standing by the doors looking practically the same. "Hoggle!" Sarah exclaimed, joy ringing in her voice. "It's…" She was half way to him when she saw an elderly woman stride through the open doors looking regal. Her hair was a light spring sky blue with veins of white threaded through the long strands. Peeking out under her hair were finely pointed ears. She was an elf. Sarah felt Jareth at her side.

Jareth was surprised to see his grandmother, the Duchess, of the Elf kingdom standing before him without sending word to him. "Grandmother, you honor me," As much as he hated it, Jareth pulled on the mask of the King of the Labyrinth. Then, he wrapped his arm around Sarah's waist to bring her in closer to his side, "This is Sarah, she's to be my queen." Jareth announced.

"You think this young, slip of a girl is fit to be your queen?" The Duchess turned to Sarah, "I am Aurelia, Jareth's grandmother." Aurelia strode by the dwarf and over to where Jareth stood with the girl who was clearly human, but there was something about her. Aurelia would wait and see if that something was good or bad. "I'll be the one to determine if you are fit for my grandson."

Jareth bristled. "You have no say here," He reminded her. "This is my Kingdom and the labyrinth chose her to its Queen. That bond cannot be broken because you wish it." His tone was guarded, but held warning for her not to press him in this. Sarah was going to be his.

"Should I go?" Sarah asked Jareth feeling the need to be out of sight.

"No," Jareth said firmly, but with a note of gentleness. "This is your home and my grandmother came here unannounced."

"You were ailing," Aurelia pointed out. "I came here to tend to my beloved grandson." She reminded. "I come here and find a human on your arm." It wasn't what Aurelia was expecting.

Jareth held up Sarah's left hand to show the ring gracing her finger, "Sarah is reason I yet draw breath. She saved me, restored my powers. We will be married." To show his commitment to Sarah and to his grandmother, he laced his fingers with Sarah and stood by her side. The air of disapproval washed away to be replaced by a smile on his grandmothers face. Jareth had been given a test.

"That's what I wanted to hear," Aurelia smiled and opened her arms to Sarah. She could see the reticence lingering in the young girl's eyes. So, she put that to rest by going to Sarah and enveloping her in a warm hug. The moment she touched the girl, Aurelia felt a blast of power blow through her. "You are so special my dear."

Sarah hugged her in return and then leaned back, "I'm confused." She said stepping back to once again take Jareth's hand as her thumb fiddled with the ring she now wore. "I got the impression you don't like humans." Aurelia was shaking her head with a gentle smile gracing her lips.

"Oh, you sweet young thing." Aurelia reached her hand out to brush her hand down Sarah's cheek. "I had to make sure my grandson was committed to you as any caring grandmother would. Now I can see that he is, I hope you will let me make a better impression upon you." She held out her hand to Sarah. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Jareth smiling at her.

Sarah lifted her left hand and placed it in Aurelia's. "Ok," She chuckled nervously not sure if she wanted to leave Jareth's side. But she was marrying Jareth, and that meant she was marrying his family. "I'm still very new to all of this." She said.

Aurelia lifted Sarah's hand to inspect the ring she wore. The metal came from the loving arms of the Labyrinth and crafted by the goblins, "This is exquisite." She praised and then to Jareth she mentioned, "Your goblins certainly have come in the world." There was no masking her distaste for the little creatures that her grandson ruled or the outcasts he seemed to collect.

"Grandmother," Jareth warned, "The goblins are loyal to me. I am their king, and I protect them." He said. "Please, I know you don't like them, but you will respect them." For appearances his Grandmother inclined her head, schooling her features into a mask of contriteness. He nodded his head and mentally sighed. Dealing with his father's side of the family could be a full time job. "Hoggle will show you to your room."

"Oh, alright," Aurelia chuckled lightly letting go of Sarah's hand. "Tonight we will dine and I will get to know your wife to be." She said leaving no room for refusal. Then she turned and followed the dwarf out of the throne room and up the stairs to her right.

Sarah didn't know if she should be feeling relief, terror, or nervousness at the thought of having questions lobbed at her by a beautiful elf. "That was… uhhh…" She was at a loss for words. "Is she always like that?" Sarah finally asked turning to look at Jareth. He was just smiling at her.

"That she is." Jareth answered. "But don't worry, she is a kind and caring woman who would do anything for her family." He smiled. "Soon, you will be a part of the family and she will defend you just as fiercely." Walking to her, he took her hand and guided her out of the throne room. "There is another room I would like to show you."

"As long as said room is your bedroom, I'm game," Sarah stated. More than anything that had been the room to torment her thoughts since she had met him. It had been a stray though here and there over the years, but it was still there. "You know, I imagined a large spacious room with a four poster bed in the center. And it would have a balcony overlooking a beautiful garden with roses blooming." Now that his grandmother was off somewhere else in the castle Sarah was breathing easier.

"Oh," Jareth pulled her to a stop right outside his large wooden bedroom door. His hands slipped over her hips pressing her into the door. "You put a lot of thought into what my bedroom would look like didn't you?" He purred putting his lips close to her. She moaned lightly grasping his upper arms. "Did you ever picture yourself in my bed?" He asked lightly kissing her, a quick brush of lips. "Did you picture me above you?" His hands slid down her thighs and then back up scrapping his nails over her jeans.

"Yes," Sarah gasped. "I dreamed I would look into your eyes as we made love." She drew her hands up to cup his face. "I always dreamed of you." This time it was she who claimed his lips, passionately, and with such fire that she had Jareth moaning and pressing in against her. She wanted them to pick up where they left off. She wanted the feeling of his body branded into hers. "I always want it to be you." Once against he picked her up and held her against him. "I only ever want to belong to you."

"And you will," Jareth moaned setting her back on her feet. His right arm slipped around her waist to keep her close while he used magic to open the doors behind them. "I will never let you fall from my arms." He promised and then turned her to show her the room that they would share. "You described my bedchambers as if you had been there." Jareth said.

"Maybe I dreamed it." Sarah teased freeing herself from his arms to move inside the room. There was a balcony and the bed was exactly where she thought it would be, in the center of the room. It was a large four poster bed of white wood shot with veins of pearl. It had dark red drapes restrained with golden cords making the wood glow. The sheets were of a dark blue satin that had her resisting the urge to run her hands over them. "This truly is a room for a king." Sarah said.

"And the perfect room for a queen as well." Jareth replied standing just inside the doors to allow Sarah the time to explore, to see all that he owned and wanted to share with her. Again, this feeling of danger crawled into his heart. Sarah belonged here, but the sense of impending doom swirled around her. Why hadn't he seen it before? Jareth knew why. He was too much in love with Sarah. It didn't matter, though. Whatever happened he would be by her side.

So," Sarah sat on the edge of the bed, "What should I be wearing to dinner tonight?" She motioned to the jeans she was wearing. "I doubt jeans are appropriate." Jareth looked her up and down with a thoughtful look on his face. Sarah giggled at him. She would never get enough of him. "Though, I may have no choice but to wear what I have as I don't have any clothes here. Or do I?"

Jareth motioned to the large armoire. It was the latest addiction to his room that his eyes had immediately set upon when the doors opened. This was the Labyrinth making room for Sarah. It never ceased to amazing him at how alive his immense maze was. "Magic provides." Jareth said coming to stand behind her as she opened the doors to an array of clothes. "The labyrinth wants you to have all the comforts."

Sarah was still amazed, even after all this time. Her hands reached out and touched a pale green silk dress that looked like the one she used to wear in the park when she had been acting out scenes from the book she had adored. It was the book that had brought Jareth into her life. Sarah removed the dress and then faced Jareth once more with a beguiling smile. "Help me dress?"

"It would be my great pleasure," Jareth kissed her lightly, "My lady." With a wave of his hands the dress vanished to reappear on the bed all laid out. Then, his hands started with the buttons at the bottom of her shirt. One by one they opened revealing her flat stomach, pale skin, and the hint of a black bra. Jareth fought to control his breathing as he pushed the dark blue fabric down her shoulders and down to the floor. "Still such a vision." He purred letting his hands drop to her waist and to the button of her pants. With a swift yank the button slipped free and he pulled the zipper down. All this time he had been looking deep in Sarah's eyes until he let his gaze drift down to see a hint of matching black silk underwear.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Sarah asked wiggling her hips to let the jeans fall down her legs. She put her hands on his shoulders so she could step out of her pants after they pooled around her ankles. "Cause I am enjoying this immensely." Sarah chuckled and kicked her pants away. Then, suddenly in a teasing mood, Sarah moved away from him and towards the bed where the dress waited, but Jareth didn't let her get that far. His arms came around her waist again and yanked her back against him.

"You are being wicked my dear." Jareth purred in her ear walking her over to the bed. "As much as I would love to further this," He kissed the back of her neck, kissed the bump of her spine, and then kissed her shoulder. "We are expected shortly." Jareth almost wished that he could whisk Sarah away for a private dinner, for them alone, but it would be rude to ignore his grandmother. Jareth was a king, and that came with certain formalities and etiquette.

"Oh all right," Sarah chuckled and picked up the dress, but she didn't get the chance to put it on. With a rush of air the dress was neatly laced on her, snuggly fitted to hold her breasts in place, and loose around the waist. It was Jareth. He used his magic to dress her so he wouldn't tempt himself to take things farther. She turned in his arms and smiled, "You take all my fun." Playfully she pouted but soon recovered when his lips took hers and his hands were running up and down her back, tangling in her hair, and then back to her waist.

Jareth freed his mouth saying, "There will be plenty of fun to be had between us when the sun goes down." He promised. "We'll lock the doors and spend the whole night alone." It was one promise he was sure he was going to keep. There was nothing he wanted more than to spend the night with Sarah. But, right now he had to be the King and greet his guest.


End file.
